As a specialist in the global fashion industry, I’ve observed how people in different cultures persuade others in this industry. This blog post is a collection of my international travel observations about the art of persuasion in business.
- How do Europeans pre-frame the situation?
If a customer is going to try on a jumper and you know the jumper is probably too big for the customer (and you know you probably don’t have a smaller size), you say, “This is a casual and relaxed style” before the customer tries on the jumper.
In this way, you pre-frame the situation quickly, thereby preventing the size objection from happening.
A customer wants to buy a few products that are on sale, but he says, “I need to go home and get my voucher first, so perhaps I will come back tomorrow.” The staff say this to him, “These are so cheap right now, so maybe you can get these today. Your voucher will still be yours and you can use the voucher next time – that’s still your money anyway. If you get these today, you don’t need to worry about them anymore.” He purchases 3 items within a few minutes.
Here is what’s happened: People not only purchase what they want/need, but also purchase convenience. What the staff emphasized is convenience.
- International travel observation in Australia: If a menswear customer arrives with his wife/girlfriend, please make sure his wife/girlfriend doesn’t become the objection.
Ideally, you need to make his wife/girlfriend on your side quickly so that she wouldn’t come up with reasons why he shouldn’t buy something. You can give her a compliment: “Oh. Your necklace is so beautiful.” Or use humor to connect with the couple, especially the customer’s wife/girlfriend. Most couples use humor to maintain their relationships, so you can easily join their jokes. In this way, the customer’s wife/girlfriend is more likely to help you convince the customer to buy something.
When former Menswear manager Faith was selling something to a customer, she needed to go downstairs to get the right size for the customer, so the customer kindly said to her, “Don’t run for me. Just take your time.” In that moment, his wife rudely said, “She just wants to get the sale!” The customer was a bit annoyed by his wife’s comment.
The real reason why his wife said that was because his wife felt jealous – her husband was looking after another attractive woman in front of her. That’s exactly why you really have to make the customer’s wife or girlfriend feel absolutely safe and great if you are an attractive woman trying to sell them something.
Interestingly, the couple that Faith interacted with probably didn’t really know what actually happened in that moment; in many ways, effective staff know customers better than they know themselves because effective staff read the customer like an open book most of the time.
- International travel notes in America: “Where is this made?”
If a customer asks, “Where is this made?”, your answer is: “Our fabric is from America. It’s assembled in Asia.” Don’t mention “Vietnam”, “China” or “Bangladesh”; just be vague.
Example:
CUSTOMER: “This jacket looks pretty good.”
ME: “It’s 100% American cotton, so it’s very premium.”
CUSTOMER: “Is this made in America?”
ME: “The fabric is from America; it’s assembled in Asia. If it’s made in America, the price would double.”
The sale was closed. No more fabric objection, “where is this made” objection or price objection – because all of these objections have been eliminated by the staff proactively.
What the staff have actually said is “If it’s made in America, it’s not so good. Because it’s assembled in Asia, it’s better.” (The staff don’t say that; the staff let the customer get the conclusion by himself because the customer believes his own conclusion.)
“Here is a collection of my international travel notes in Europe, Australia and America.”
